Memorabilia

Star Trek Auction Update: Week 6

By Alec Peters ⋅ January 28, 2007 ⋅  Email this post ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment

The sixth week of the Star Trek auctions on eBay from It’s a Wrap Hollywoodended with 92 of the 99 lots selling for a total of $68,883.85, the secondhighest total for these auctions since they began and the the highest sellthrough

Better selection, fewer unreasonable reserves.
The top item of the week was the Admiral Janeway costume seen being worn by the former Voyager Captain in both Star Trek: Nemesis and the Star Trek Experience Borg Invasion show. A beautiful piece, it sold for $5,100, the most yet for a Star trek item in these auctions.[Editor’s Note: congratulations on winning this item Alec] The  Satan’s Robot costume sold for $4,628, which was the second highest price paid for an item so far. The robot featured in the Captain Proton holodeck scenes, this was also a rare and dynamite piece.23 items sold for over $1,000, which is second only behind the first week. If you ignore the first week as an aberration, because everyone was feeling out the auctions, then this past week was significant.

Prices on common costumes continues to drop, props still going strong
The rarity of an item is becoming very important as costumes are coming down inprice if they are perceived as common. Even ‘hero costumes’ like The Doctor’s uniform went for $1,425, a Tuvok went for $1,325 , a Tom Paris went for $1,358, and a Harry Kim went for $1,225. Even the rare Tuvok dress uniform went for only $1,528. This shows that people know there are lots of these uniforms out there and they aren’t that rare.There were some nice costumes this past week. One costume of note was theCommander Madden from Star Trek: Nemesis. Madden was Riker’s replacement asfirst officer on the Enterprise when Riker takes over the Titan. It went for astrong $2,650. The corresponding "Helm Officer Branson" costume went for $1,635.What is amazing, is that a background operations costume of the same style wentfor $1,525!  Props and set pieces are also doing well, such as an Enterprise E consoleselling for $3,500. This week we also saw a hero Tricorder for for $2,560 and a Dr. Phlox faux blood draw kit went for $2,025.

Still issues with some reserves
The good news is this week has less reserves than any other week. But predictably, IAW set reserves on some items based on the high prices realized at Christie’s. Two Phaser Rifles didn’t hit reserve, and one hit $2,025! Based on the extremely high prices IAW is asking for similar rifles on their web site, one can assume the reserves were set in the $4,000-5,000 range. Prices they will never get online. Also, the Romulan Senate stools were a hot item at Christie’s, selling for $800 each (not including the Buyer’s Premium) in a set of six. Here the top bid was $1,036 for two, not hitting the reserve that was probably at least $ 1,600. As usual, we will see these items come back in later weeks without a reserve.

Awards:

Best Item of the Week:  Admiral Janeway costume

Best Buys of the week:   Doctor, Tuvok, Paris andKim costumes, all under $1,500!

Worst Buy of the week:  24th Century StarfleetCarry Case  $1,503.  Are you KIDDING me??   A $ 500 prop at best.

Sleeper of the Week:    Female Q costume at $560.  Suzie Plaxson as Q’s wife in Voyager. Great price, memorable role. 

Week 7 Preview: It is Deep Space Nine Week
This week is a Deep Space Nine week with lots of greatcostumes from all the key cast members.  I like when It’s a Wrap does this onone hand, because it adds a nice theme and if you are a fan of a particular showlike I am (I am a huge DS9 fan) you get to see much of what is out there. 

Sisko Commando style Uniform
The top item so far isSisko’s commando style vest and uniform.   This was seen on Siskoin "In the Pale Moonlight" maybe one of the best DS9 episodes, where Sisko,working with the deliciously devious Garark, brings the Romulans into the waragainst the Dominion. Nice piece, but not as desirable as a complete uniform Ithink.  If it had the Jacket to go with it it would be a gem.

Klingon Costume
Secondin the bidding so far is the best Klingon costume yet, as it has the boots. Thetwo Klingon costumes that have sold so far had no boots. It appears that It’s aWrap wisely auctioned off the costumes without boots first, as many of ussuspected.  This one has both the boots and aKlingon Comm Badge. If you are after a Klingon costume, these two items areimportant. I like this one and think it will display well. Considering that thetwo previous one went for $ 2,285 and $1,827 without boots or a comm badge, thisone is probably worth about $ 3,000.

There is also a female Klingon costume, which is certainly rarer,but unfortunately this one has no boots. Of course, this doesn’t have thebig cleavage that Lursa and Betor’s costume did either! Don’t go over $ 2,000 on thisone. There are certainly more, and maybe better ones to come.

Other costumes
Well, there are costume of all the DS9 regulars, including a Garak, whichstrangely never showed up at Christie’s. Bashir, Dax, O’Brien, Quark, Rom, Leeta,Kira, they are all here. As well as lesser known characters such as Quark andRom’s mom! DS9 fans should have fun this week. But remember: There are morewhere these came from. Multiples of each Star Fleet uniform are to be expected,so don’t go too high!

Props
The prop selection is a bit weak this time, with only two standout pieces. The DS9 Study Model is quite impressive. This thing is 6′ wide! This is one of asmall number of models built in designing the station. One sold at Christie’sfor $1,800 before buyer’s premium, but it was an earlier version that lookednothing like the final one, you see here. These are significant pieces of StarTrek history and I think this is a great item for someone collection who candisplay it! If you get this under $1,000 you have stolen it! I actually think itis worth more than that because of its historical significance.

There is also a Romulan Disruptor Rifle, which is very nice, but could go high.The one at Christie’s went for $2,000, but I would expect a $1,200 sale pricehere. Fortunately there is no reserve on this one. It is made of resin, which isimportant. Resin is a hard plastic that doesn’t deform of degrade. There is aRomulan Disruptor Pistol also this week, but it is foam rubber. These weaponswill tend to crack and the finish winds up looking crappy, so I always stay awayfrom them unless you get them cheap.

The Cardassian Circuit Panels went for $2,600 at Christie’s, but should be athird of that this time. I mention Christie’s prices as the high end of thespectrum. Items are generally going for 1/3 - 1/2 of what they went for atChristie’s due to the smaller population of bidders here. I think this piecelooks good and will display well. If you get it under $800, I think it is a gooddeal.

If you are a DS9 fan, then the O’Brien and Bashir Dart Set is a great item. Thisis a piece we saw time and again in the show and helps define the relationshipbetween the two DS9 crew members. A good deal at anything under $700.

 Click here to see the full list of week7 items on Auction 

Alec Peters has joined TrekMovie.com as our Auctions and Collectables Editor. Alec has been a Trek fan since the 60s and collector of memorabilia since the 70s (counting 3 Star Trek Captain’s costumes in his collection). As Founder and former CEO of f Auctionworks, he is also an expert in auctions and eBay. For more check out Alec’s Trek Auctions Blog